A close co-operation between mobile operators and government helps China account for 27 percent of total global M2M connections in 2013.
A report issued by GSMA said that China leads the global connected living market with over 50 million M2M connections, which accounts for two third of the total M2M connections in Asia and more than one quarter of the connections in the entire world.
Asia is the largest regional M2M market, accounting for 40 percent of the world’s 189 million M2M connections at the end of 2013. Asia added 55 million M2M net connections between 2010 and 2013 and China was the primary driver of growth in the region, adding nearly 39 million M2M connections during the period.
The study said that the close collaboration between the leading mobile operators China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, state-owned enterprises and the government has enabled the market to grow dramatically in a relatively short period of time, laying the foundation for further expansion and the development of the Internet of Things.
Alex Sinclair, chief technology officer, GSMA said, “Proactive government support has benefited China and its mobile operators, whereas in many global markets, regulatory uncertainty has held back the deployment of M2M solutions.”
“The addressable market and the opportunity for further growth is immense, especially when one considers the sheer number of ‘things’ such as cars or domestic appliances that could potentially be connected by mobile,” Sinclair added.
Demand from the energy and transportation industries has driven much of this early growth, while M2M solutions are also gaining traction in the automotive, smart city, healthcare, education and retail sectors.
GSMA will highlight the impact of M2M technology at Mobile Asia Expo and the Internet of Things at the GSMA Connected City, demonstrating a host of cutting-edge, mobile-connected products and services, including wearable technology, connected cars and other exhibits across education, health, homes and retail, amongst others.
The Connected City will include interactive demonstrations from partners including Accenture, Aimia, BMW, China Unicom, CityZen, Deutsche Telekom, Escher Group, Fitbit, Gemalto, Huawei, Jibe Mobile, KT, Logic Group, Omate, Oral B, Proxama, QiHoo360, Qualcomm Incorporated, Sequans, Sest-Tech, UPlane, Verifone and Wanlink Global Technology (SZ).
